Emerging British fashion designer Richard Quinn was presented with the
inaugural Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design on the final day of
London Fashion Week.

The award has been set up in recognition of the role the fashion
industry plays in society and diplomacy, and will be presented annually by
a senior member of the Royal Family, to an emerging British fashion
designer of womenswear, menswear, or accessories that shows “exceptional
talent and originality, whilst demonstrating value to the community and/or
strong sustainable policies”.

Quinn was selected as the first recipient by British Fashion Council
chief executive Caroline Rush and its ambassador for emerging talent, Sarah
Mower, for his “exceptional prints” and his ability to “combine unique
handcrafted skill with a refined high fashion sensibility”, as well as his
creation of a print studio, which offers high quality, price accessible
services to students, his peer group of emerging designers and more
recently offering sampling services to more established businesses such as
Burberry and JW Anderson.

The idea of the award was raised by Her Majesty’s personal advisor,
Angela Kelly, who has orchestrated The Queen’s wardrobe for over 26 years,
and following Her Majesty's 90th birthday celebrations, it was agreed that
the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design would be created to
recognise emerging British fashion talent to provide a legacy of support
for the industry in recognition the role fashion has played throughout The
Queen's Reign and continues to play in diplomacy, culture and
communications.

Each year the British Fashion Council, in collaboration with the Royal
Household, will select an emerging designer to win the award.

The inaugural award was presented by Her Majesty at London Fashion Week,
who also attended Quinn’s catwalk show, which showcased his bold and
emotive womenswear collection.

Queen Elizabeth II makes surprise visit to London Fashion Week

The award itself has been beautifully designed by Angela Kelly, inspired
by the Queen Elizabeth rose. It was hand-made by Lucy Price at Bauhinia
Studios and in Birmingham's famous jewellery quarter.

Click through the slideshow to take a look at the inauguration of the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design.

Commenting on the award, Rush said: “It is an incredible honour for our
industry to be granted this recognition by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
For the honour to be bestowed annually on an emerging designer, in
recognition of the UK being the global centre for fashion talent is great
recognition for Richard Quinn, as well as the incredible talents that have
developed businesses here in the UK, and those that will follow in his
footsteps.”

Mower added: “This new honour from Her Majesty is a truly historic
landmark which offers encouragement for the aspirations of creative and
entrepreneurial young British people for generations to come. Richard
Quinn, a Londoner and alumnus of Central Saint Martins MA of the class of
2016, exemplifies the excellence of UK fashion education.

“In addition to the colourful optimism of his collections, his
simultaneous setting up of his open-access print works in Peckham
demonstrates a community-minded business sense which is contributing to the
present and future of British fashion manufacturing. I congratulate Richard
for cementing this link between fashion and British industry, and for being
the first recipient of this momentous recognition.”